


Future Perfect

by Rina (rinadoll)



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Cabins, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Future Fic, Kissing, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-10 01:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12288126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinadoll/pseuds/Rina
Summary: The blustery Scottish winds were nothing like their familiar London winters. But with a fireplace, a closet of bleach, and her best girl, what else could Patsy desire?





	Future Perfect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Selenay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selenay/gifts).



> Thanks for the chance to write one of my favorite canon couples! I think we have a lot of favorite tropes in common, so I hope you enjoy. :)

It was frightfully cold, the blustery Scottish winds nothing like their familiar London winters. 

Patsy wrapped her muffler closer to her neck and switched her suitcase to her other hand. They’d passed several chalets awhile back, but now their path was veering towards the desolate. Trees lined the path, animals rustled in the brush, snow crunched beneath their feet. The sky was starting to darken slightly towards twilight, and Patsy hoped they’d reach their cottage soon. “Have you engaged a former bothy for us, Deels?” 

“Of course not,” Delia said, amused, and then shrugged. “Well, likely not, at any rate. Shouldn’t be much further now.” She beamed at Patsy, the cold pinkening her cheeks and making her eyes sparkle.

Patsy smiled back, even as she sniffled and rubbed at her numb and likely bright red nose. She’d never looked very fetching in the cold, unlike Delia. But the enthusiasm was infectious and Patsy reached out to clasp Delia’s hand. She squeezed through their woolen mittens and swung their hands. “I’m sure it will be marvelous.”

Five minutes later, they’d arrived and Patsy thought it was something a bit less than marvelous. Charming would be a stretch, but it was, at least, far from dilapidated. It was old, and well used, and more rustic than Patsy had anticipated. The weathered wood and stone blended into the muted snowy backdrop of the woods, but the stacks of firewood looked promising, at least.

Patsy followed Delia inside, settling their cases just inside the door.

“Oh, it’s just like my gran’s home,” Delia said, delighted, as they took in the homely room. The far right wall held a fireplace, record player and a tall console radio that was likely to be as old as she and Delia. The sofa and armchairs were loaded with thick plaid blankets, and old-fashioned rag-rugs spotted the floor. To the left was a doorway that led to a bedroom with two log-made beds, pieced quilts, and a second fireplace. Near the entrance was the door to the kitchen, with a tiny table that held a fresh vase of holly and greenery to welcome them. It was, all in all, quite cosy looking.

And just unclean enough to make Patsy want to twitch. 

“I’ll work on building the fires,” Delia said, dropping her mittens on the couch. “Surely there must be some cleaning agents here for you.”

“Surely,” Patsy said, fervently, and went digging. She was pleased to find a closet of supplies and swapped her mittens for cleaning gloves. 

Delia tuned the radio before turning to the fireplace and Patsy set to scrubbing the kitchen. It perhaps wasn’t very holiday-ish, but it was familiar. She smiled as Delia started singing along with the radio. It felt a great deal like their first day in their home, a sunny semi that they’d both fallen in love with at first sight. 

She could go for some of that sunny today. Patsy pulled her hat further down over her ears and started in on the second counter. “How’s the fire coming, Deels?” she called. She put a little more elbow grease into her work, hoping it would warm her a bit more.

“Much closer now,” Delia called. “Almost certain of it.”

The comforting scent of bleach, combined with Delia’s cheerful singing, soon had Patsy getting into the spirit of it all. And when Delia finally had both fires going, the increasing warmth helped her unknot a bit. Delia grabbed a rag to join her, and soon they met, finished, in the middle of the great room.

Patsy dropped onto the couch, stretching her arms and finally feeling fully relaxed. They had a wonderful week ahead of them, and this really wasn't such a bad looking place. Delia dropped onto her lap, planting a kiss on her cheek. 

“Lovely,” she said, satisfied. She nestled in and Patsy entwined their hands. 

“It is,” she agreed. The crackling fire, the winds whistling and knocking branches against their windows, the weight of Delia on her lap--she felt very much at peace in their snug room. 

“I’m glad you like it. You've been such a good sport about Christmas with my family, and I wanted you to have a good time before we go,” Delia said.

Perhaps a little less at peace now.

Delia squeezed her hand. “I know it’s not your ideal. It’s not necessarily mine, either, but I'm looking forward to seeing my mam and dad, and all my cousins again. They never make the trip to England. And our Christmas Eve taffy pull! It’s silly, but it’s tradition, you know. So thank you for being willing to visit home with me.”

“I didn’t need to be bribed with a week in the Scottish borderlands,” Patsy protested. “Of course you want to visit your family for the holidays. I’m grateful to be invited and allowed in at all.” At Delia’s raised eyebrow, she flushed a bit. “Though, all right, I've actually been rather a grump in my head,” she admitted. 

Delia laughed and pulled her hand free in order to wrap Patsy in the tight, comforting hug that she called a cwtsh. “I know it. Home has never been so scoured to within an inch of itself. But you weren’t a grump to me, and I appreciate that.”

“Maybe next year, we can go back to Poplar for a few days during Christmas,” Patsy suggested, perking up as the cwtsh did its soothing job. “Have a taffy pull with the Sisters and everyone else.”

“Oh, Angela is the perfect age to start helping,” Delia said, looking pleased at the thought. “She’d enjoy it. If she can get Sister Monica Joan to share any, at any rate!”

At that, Delia’s stomach began to growl and she laughed. “So much for an earned rest,” she said. “Let’s put on pjs and make a picnic by the fire.”

They made quick work of fixing and eating warm soup, tinned sausages, cheese, and stacks of biscuits, and ended up on a rug by the fire. It had been a long and exhausting day of travel, and both were content to move or do little.

They spent the evening alternating between listening to music and reading aloud to each other. They had finished _Desert of the Heart_ and began a book of poetry by Natalie Clifford Barney until Patsy set it aside in favor of turning the music back on, quietly, and settling down.

Delia rested against the sofa, sipping her tea and stroking her hand through Patsy’s hair on her lap. Her fingers occasionally moved in time to the song playing, and Patsy smiled.

“I think this is my favorite kind of night,” Delia said. “Frosty outside, snug inside. No chance for either of us being called out on a case. It feels so very safe. Nothing can bother us here.”

“Mmm. My only complaint is that while there is a perfectly frigid night hanging just by the windows, you did such a good job with the fire that I don’t have an excuse to warm you up,” Patsy said, grinning mischievously as she took Delia’s hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. She kept hold of it, tracing her life lines as Delia laughed.

“I didn’t realize you needed an excuse, Pats,” she said, fondly. “Come up here, you.”

Patsy willingly obliged, kneeling up and straddling Delia’s lap. She slid her hands from Delia’s shoulders down to her hips, pausing briefly to stroke at the lovely gentle curves of her waist. It never failed to make Delia shudder, and now was no exception. 

As Patsy knew she would, Delia immediately fit their mouths together in a kiss, one that could stay soft or turn deeper and more purposeful. She grasped the collar of Patsy’s top to tug her closer and bit down gently on Patsy’s lip as Patsy slipped her hands under Delia's pajama top. She let out a little hum of pleasure as Delia bit down a bit harder and then a sigh as Delia let go and brushed a little kiss of apology over the spot. Soft and gentle it was.

Patsy traced Delia’s jaw with her tongue, bringing their lips together for a brief touch before nibbling her way towards Delia’s favorite spot on her throat. She used Delia’s distraction to tumble her down to the rug and smiled down at Delia’s flushed face as they shifted into a comfortable position, Delia’s legs coming up to wrap around her own.

They kissed slowly, languidly, Patsy relishing the feel of Delia’s breasts under her hand, stroking and kneading in time to their rhythm. Delia arched up, giving Patsy better access to bite and suck at the soft skin where her neck and shoulder met, and giving herself the chance to brush down Patsy’s back to get a firm grip of her backside. Patsy licked at the small mark she’d made and Delia groaned, falling back down to the rug. 

Their lips met in a heated kiss that slowly settled into something quieter, something comfortable that always felt like home. 

Patsy lost track of time as they traded those lazy kisses on the floor, tongues sliding against each other, hands caressing warm skin, with no further aim except to relax and be close. 

Delia slowly kissed down Patsy’s chest, mouthing at her breasts through the fabric, and Patsy felt her breath catch. Of course, if Delia wanted… But with a final kiss, Delia tucked herself around Patsy, wrapping her arms around Patsy’s waist. They rested there, luxuriating in the contact, breaths falling into the same steady pattern. 

“Is it midnight yet?” Delia asked, breaking the stillness. Her head stayed on Patsy’s chest, and she didn’t seem keen on moving.

Patsy lifted her wrist to check her watch and smiled. “Just after,” she said. “Happy anniversary, darling Delia.”

“Happy anniversary, love,” Delia said, landing a kiss as high as she could reach, which happened to be Patsy’s collarbone.

That was lovely, but not good enough. Patsy tugged at her arms, and Delia laughingly complied with the unspoken request. She pushed up and held herself over Patsy to give her a proper kiss before cuddling back down again.

“Happiest five years of my life,” Patsy said, skimming her hand over Delia’s back with leisurely strokes. “Except our months apart, of course. I suggest we resolve to avoid anything like those ever again.”

“Of course,” Delia agreed. She squeezed Patsy tightly and proclaimed, “Here’s to our five years of happiness and fifty more to come."

“Only fifty? What happens then, you leave me?” Patsy teased, though the words were somehow hard to say. She quickly recovered with a grin. “I didn't realize we had an expiry date.” She tweaked Delia’s backside.

“Don’t be a fool,” Delia said, rolling up to a seat and swatting at her lightly. “I'd be pleased with five hundred. You're not getting rid of me that easily.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” Patsy said, a little more earnestly than she’d intended. Fifty years, five hundred...she had a sudden recollection of Delia telling her she wanted to be married. It couldn’t happen, of course, but in fifty years? She thought of the Christmas gift she’d purchased for Delia just last week, a rare dip into her inheritance.

She suddenly and desperately had a longing to make that dream come true, and not just for Delia’s sake. She had every faith they would be together always, and wished their friends could celebrate that with them. Some day. Some day she could spill her pride in and love for Delia to them all.

“Pats? You’re a million miles away,” Delia said, touching her cheek and interrupting her train of thought. “Come back to me.”

“Always,” Patsy said, flashing a genuine smile. “I was thinking about how much I love you, is all.” She yawned so wide her jaw popped. “And how tired I am.”

“At least it was in the proper order,” Delia said, shaking her head. “Let’s go to bed, you goose.” She pulled at Patsy, who didn’t budge but quirked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, fine, I love you, too. Madly.” 

She beamed at Patsy, who understood right then that she’d have to get Delia a new Christmas gift in Wales. Her current one had a new purpose.

\---------------  
When they left one blissful week later, Delia was wearing a diamond necklace that came with promises including fifty years, or as long as they both should live.


End file.
